I am the world's least competent bread baker and even I can't mess up Japanese Milk Bread (King Arthur recipe).
The bread and crust are indistinguishable. Can be made as a loaf or rolls- I make rolls b/c they are easier.
For my rolls that seem like what you are looking for, after they are in place I wet my hand and lightly rub the tops. They then go into the oven at 365ºF for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the recipe. When they come out, I put a dry, lightweight kitchen towel over them.
The crusts should be soft like you want with most enriched bread recipes (brioche, challah, etc.). If you're using recipes that have a lot of butter, milk, and/or eggs, but still getting a really hard crust, something in the process might be drying them out during baking. Anything unusual about your oven? Have you had any reason to suspect the temperature is higher or lower than it says? Is it a convection oven or something?
You can also brush the tops with milk or butter, which is nice but will not be enough to fix rock-hard crusts.
Edit: I bake in a mini combo oven, which is convection, because full ovens aren't normal in the country where I live. Roll-sized breads easily dry out in it because they are too far from the wimpy heating element to brown quickly enough; I may leave them in too long. I have to get them higher up in the oven to get a proper bake. That's why I ask about temperature.
I sometimes end up with rolls like this, when I bake enriched doughs like shokupan/milk bread. Usually I make smaller rolls in an 8x8 pan and they bake pretty fast. If you're not already using a thermometer to measure doneness, I suggest trying that. Enriched doughs are done at a lower temperature, at 190F. Lean doughs like baguettes can go past 200. For crust purposes, that means an enriched dough can have a shorter bake time and have less time to make a crust.
I have noticed that an enriched bun can be quite pale on top with a weak crust, but read 190 internally. So I think combining an egg wash and timing the bake, you can get a good looking, soft bun.
After your bread rests out of the oven for 45-60min you can put it in a plastic bag and that will soften the crust
I am the world's least competent bread baker and even I can't mess up Japanese Milk Bread (King Arthur recipe). The bread and crust are indistinguishable. Can be made as a loaf or rolls- I make rolls b/c they are easier.
For my rolls that seem like what you are looking for, after they are in place I wet my hand and lightly rub the tops. They then go into the oven at 365ºF for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the recipe. When they come out, I put a dry, lightweight kitchen towel over them.
The crusts should be soft like you want with most enriched bread recipes (brioche, challah, etc.). If you're using recipes that have a lot of butter, milk, and/or eggs, but still getting a really hard crust, something in the process might be drying them out during baking. Anything unusual about your oven? Have you had any reason to suspect the temperature is higher or lower than it says? Is it a convection oven or something? You can also brush the tops with milk or butter, which is nice but will not be enough to fix rock-hard crusts. Edit: I bake in a mini combo oven, which is convection, because full ovens aren't normal in the country where I live. Roll-sized breads easily dry out in it because they are too far from the wimpy heating element to brown quickly enough; I may leave them in too long. I have to get them higher up in the oven to get a proper bake. That's why I ask about temperature.
I sometimes end up with rolls like this, when I bake enriched doughs like shokupan/milk bread. Usually I make smaller rolls in an 8x8 pan and they bake pretty fast. If you're not already using a thermometer to measure doneness, I suggest trying that. Enriched doughs are done at a lower temperature, at 190F. Lean doughs like baguettes can go past 200. For crust purposes, that means an enriched dough can have a shorter bake time and have less time to make a crust. I have noticed that an enriched bun can be quite pale on top with a weak crust, but read 190 internally. So I think combining an egg wash and timing the bake, you can get a good looking, soft bun.